


Back to You

by sassclops



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: F/M, Getting Back Together, House of X/Powers of X, Past Jean Grey/Scott Summers, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25522132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassclops/pseuds/sassclops
Summary: Set after the Independence Day party during House of X/Powers of X aka those panels where Scott and Emma couldn't stop looking at each other all night. Kind of my own fix-it fic for current canon. Might do more of these in a series later because I do have my own ideas for how I think Scott and Emma would realistically interact with the environment of Krakoa.Shoutout to my friend Luke because we write and talk enough about Scott/Emma that I was able to put this together!I should preface: In my story Scott never died on the Orchis mission and was never cloned by Xavier. This is original Scott.
Relationships: Emma Frost/Scott Summers
Comments: 7
Kudos: 47





	Back to You

The roar of celebration had long since died down, a once-bustling “paradise” now dimmed and barren as the masses walked off into their own lives. Their new lives. Scott’s always been te last to leave, never quite able to immerse himself in social experiences fully (and this one more than most, a boldening sense of discomfort lurking in his chest). _Maybe it’s time you let yourself be happy too_ , he tells himself, right as he catches the gaze of the one person he’s been eyeing all night. Blonde, clad in white, sitting by the rocks and watching as the sun peeks from above the clouds –the birth of a new dawn.

Even he doesn’t realize the way that tender smile etches its way into his features. In a bout of courage, he approaches her, offering her a drink from the six pack he’d forgotten was in his hands as he takes his seat next to her. “How does it feel to be on top of the world, Ms. Frost?”

And damn her composure, but she lives for that smile. Although beer is hardly her drink of choice, she accepts –caught in the moment, she’ll call it. She pops a tab, looks out across the great blue ocean. “I haven’t decided yet, darling, but the view is magnificent.”

From across the grounds he’d been watching her all night, welcoming back students she’d lost, her own daughters…peace looks good on her, a weight lifted off her shoulders from the last time he’d seen her. “It pales in comparison to mine,” he replies, reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The urge for Emma to roll her eyes is strong, but all born from adoration. 

“I truly am happy for you, Emma. To have your girls back…your students…you’ve earned this. I shouldn’t be surprised you had a hand in helping create the impossible.” With the weight of his warm red stare on her lips, she thinks for a moment that this is enough, that she could live happily on this alone. If Krakoa sank to te bottom of the ocean tomorrow, she would always have this moment. “Third time’s a charm, don’t you think?”

“For us or for mutantkind?” He cuts himself off before she can offer her own coy reply. “I saw John Proudstar today for the first time in years. The first teammate I ever buried. And back then I swore I’d never do it again but for so long it seemed like burying teammates was all I was doing. But I saw John Proudstar today. I saw the faces of all the people I’ve let down over the years and they’re alive. They’re smiling, having fun, doing everything they never got the chance to do.” Fingers pick at the aluminum tab on his can. Deep down, he doubts these people are really his fallen teammates, but he pushes those worries down to allow himself a moment of reprieve –to cherish the possibility they could be alive. If they have a second chance at life…why should he waste his?

“I’d say it’s about time you gave yourself that break, Scott,” she replies, sensing his slight discomfort. She doesn’t need her telepathy to read between the lines when it comes to Scott Summers.

“Isn’t that just like me, though? Paradise is right in front of us and I’m still thinking about how I’m wrong for enjoying it.” His hand brushes against hers, fingers loosely wrapping around hers. “I think you deserve a break too –a chance for happiness. What would make you happier now more than ever, Ms. Frost?”

She doesn’t think before she turns her hand into his, loosely lacing her fingers through his. Damn him, the way her body answers to his like instinct. She knows him too well to know what he’s about to say, to pour out some of that old romantic soul of his. This is a dream; one she knows she can’t have. “Scott…”

She falters, forcing into her mind the image of a phantom shape of a ring on his finger, pressing against her palm like an iron branding. There was a time when she wouldn’t have cared –wine in a Hong Kong hotel room, clandestine meetings in the recesses of their mind where they both knew they had gotten too attached— she’s not that woman anymore. That woman fell in love. Now this woman is too scared to have her heart broken by the only man alive capable of doing so.

“I’m not going to do this again.” Her gaze drifts from his, unable to find it in her to look him in those beautiful, red eyes. “I’m not going to be the other woman in the Scott and Jean love story again.”

It’s all she has to say for a realization to hit him, how much hurt she’s been privy to since his passing. Brows furrow, dejection settling in his heart though he understands her apprehension. “It’s funny. People used to say I bring up Jean’s name too much but until a second ago she couldn’t have been further from my mind.” He sighs, fingers running through messy brown locks. His voice softens, “What do you want me to say, Emma? That she’s not special to me? That I’m not happy she’s alive? We have two kids and enough history to fill a romance novel. She’s always going to be in my life, you know that.” 

She does know that. He knows she does too. In the silence that passes he collects himself, finding the words with slightly more ease. “Once upon a time I would’ve hung the moon for Jean Grey if she asked but it just wasn’t in the cards for us. We tried. We failed and I chose you. I will always choose you. And maybe that’s on me if I never –if I never made you feel like I did or if I didn’t show you that enough.”

 _What do you want me to say, Emma?_ That’s how it always started and she almost expects every word of that reply until he turns it around at the last second, the beauty of surprise only he has ever been able to pull off around her. She’ll blame the emotions of the evening, of seeing her children again after so long, but there’s an unmistakable sting in her eyes. Tears of joy; yet another thing only he has ever been able to bring out in her.

He’s no telepath, but he knows her like the back of his hand. And when she can’t find the words, he takes the wheel from her, continuing, “I love Jean. I will always love her and I know you know that. But I’m not in love with her. Someone else has the market cornered on that front…” His hand finds hers again, emboldened by the beat of his own heart. “Someone else has had the market cornered on that front for quite some time.” A beat. “Let me make you happy. If this place is about second chances I think we deserve ours too.”

When she says his name again, it’s with certainty, secure in the knowledge that her heart is safe in his hands. Her free hand wipes the stray tear from her eye, smiling ever so slightly as she does so. “I should be thanking you for making me cry after everyone has already left.” She teases.

“Guess I just know you that well,” he teases, leaning in to capture her lips in a kiss. It feels like it’s been eons since he’s been able to do this and kissing her again feels like coming home after a long trip away. 

“I missed you,” She finally breathes out, resting her forehead against his. “I missed you too,” he replies, adding, “if the world comes crashing down on us again, promise me that we make it out together.”

“Always.”


End file.
